Practice board



Aug. 1, 1939. F. w. TETzMAN 2,167,696

PRACTICE BOARD Original Filed April 29, 1957 j v Z* Patented Aug. 1, 1939 UNITED STATES PRACTICE BOARD Fred W. Tetzman, Chicago, Ill. v

Application April 29, 1937, serial No. 139,827 Renewed October 26, 1938 7 Claims.

My invention relates to platforms or boards used by tap dancers, acrobats and other performers for purposes of practice or exercise, and my principal object is to provide a board of this kind which absorbs all of the shocks and vibrations incident to the practice or exercise and keeps them from being transmitted to the floor or other surface on which the board is placed.

A further object of the invention is to so constitute the novel board that it also absorbs the sounds or noises incident to its use, whereby to Inufile the same and eliminate a disturbance of the surroundings or the transmission of the s-ame to the iioor below.

Another obj-ect of the invention is to construct the novel practice board in a manner to cushion the impulses imparted thereto during the practice, and to prevent a distortion of the sound reproduced by the board.

An additional object of' the invention is to provide the novel practice board with means to maintain the board in place and keep same from shifting sidewise from the eiects of th-e performers movements.

An important object of the invention is to design the novel practice board along lines of simplicity and economy, and preferably, with a total absence of metallic connections such as nails, screws, etc.

With the above objects in view, and any others which may suggest themselves from the description to follow, a better understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the novel practice board;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmental section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Many professionals and students of tap dancing nd it difficult to secure convenient practice facilities on account of the noise and other disturbances created by practice. Usually, the practising is done on -a floor, and the vibrations and sounds are not only a disturbance to the surroundings, but are transmitted to the floor below, causing more or less annoyance. With the increase in popularity of tap and other types of stage dancing, many am-ateurs Who take lessons must do their practising at home, making the problem even more serious. I have therefore provided the novel practice board as a handy article which may be laid on any floor and used for practise without creating any appreciable disturbance.

In accordance with the foregoing, specinc reference to the drawing indicates the base of the novel board at I U. This is a board of plywood approximately three-quarters of an inch in thickness and of any required size. A suitable size for tap dancing may be 21/2 ft. long and 11/2 ft. wide. The board may of course be made in a larger size wherethe dance `or exercise requires a more extensive area. f Y

The base Ill is supported along its outer portions by a rectangular wooden frame comprised of horizontal Vpieces II formed with upstanding marginal sections I2. The frame is constructed as a unit, and its sections are therefore jointed as indicated at I3 and glued together. The bottom pieces II of the frame are recessed from below as indicated at I I a to receive a frame composed of pieces I4 of sponge rubber.

Before the base I is laid in the frame Il, I 2, the portion II is overlaid with a pad I5 of cork, this pad being of the same form as the frame and glued upon the sections II thereof but preferably, not to the base I 0. The pad I5 is supplemented by a marginal pad I6 of cork placed along the inner side of the frame section I2, thus completing the supporting frame section. A cork pad I1 is laid upon the base I0 and extends to the side pads I6. 'Ihe top pad I 'I is then overlaid with a hardwood flooring I 8 of narrow gauge, glue being employed to secure the pad I'I between the ooring and the base and to secure the marginal pad I6 to the marginal section I2. Finally, a thick pad I9 of felt is glued to the underside of the board base Ill and extends to the side pieces II of the frame, thereby completing the contact section.

The board is now constituted without the use of sound carrying or sound distorting connections such as nails, etc. as a rmly-assembled two section unit, and may be placed on a floor or rug whenever desired for use in practicing a dance or exercise. The top of the board Will be finished as a smooth surface, and the flooring I8 will constitute a durable platform for the support of the performer and the shocks or impulses of the dance or exercise. The baseboard I 0 serves as a foundation to maintain the rigidity of the board and furnish a complete support for the flooring in the frame II, I2. The latter serves as an enclosure and elevated support for the base I0 thereby maintaining the Contact section, i. e., the section with which the shoe actually contacts, above the floor upon which the board rests. Thus, the cork pads I5, I6 and I'I will serve as cushions to absorb the shocks imparted by pounding or tapping of the performers feet, and such shocks will be more fully absorbed by the bottom frame I4 of sponge rubber, so that they are not transmitted to the floor below. The felt pad I9 is sufciently thick to deaden the sounds of the dance or exercise, eliminating the spread of the noise to the surroundings or to the floor below. Also, the base frame I4 secures a grip on the oor or other object upon which the practise board is placed, so as to make the same substantially immovable. Finally, due to the closely litted` joints and the pressure on all joints caused by' the Weight of the performer, the elevated baseboard tends to create a partial vacuum from its Vibra-l tion within the space surrounded by the bottom frame I4, so as to aid in keeping the board irm despite upsetting and uneven impulses imparted to the board by the movements of the performer. Finally, it will be appreciated that the novel practise board is made up of elements which are of conventional form and readily found on the market, so as to reduce the manufacturing cost of the board to an economical gure.

While I have described the invention along specic lines, it is evident that various minor changes or refinements may be required from time to time, and it is understood that all such changes and renements are within the scope and spirit of the invention as covered by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A practise board for dancing and like exercise comprising a relatively thick baseboard, a thin layer of cork, on the same, a surface layer of hardwood flooring on the cork layer, a marginal cork sheet about the assembly of the baseboard and said layers, a wood frame enclosing said marginal sheet and having bottom extensions under the baseboard, and cork layers between the baseboard and said extensions.

2. The structure of claim 1, and a thick felt pad applied to the under surface of the baseboard in the space between the extensions.

3. The structure of claim 1, said extensions being recessed from the bottom, and a yieldable frame seated in the recesses of said extensions and projecting downwardly to support them above a floor or like surface.

4. A practice board for dancing and like exercise, some of the parts forming a contact section and being assembled without the use of metallic connections whereby sound reproduced is undistorted, by a relatively thick baseboard, a surface layer of hardwood ooring over the baseboard,and a layer of sheet cork between the flooring and the baseboard to deaden sounds transmitted to the latter, said contact section being arranged for positioning in a portable frame.

5. The structure of claim 4, and the portable frame marginally of the flooring, cork layer and baseboard and arranged to hold said section.

6. The structure of claim 4 and a sheet of cork marginally of the contact assembly formed by the flooring, and a horizontal cork layer and the baseboard.

7. The structure of claim 4, a sheet of cork marginally of the contact assembly formed by the flooring, the horizontal cork layer and the baseboard, and a wood frame enclosing the marginal cork sheet on the sides.

FRED W. TETZMAN. 

